11 Recommendations of 100-point Wineries

Château Pontet-Canet, located at the Pauillac region of Bordeaux, France, is the first biodynamic-certified Grand Cru Classé of Bordeaux. It has been owned by the Tesseron family since 1975. The family has renovated the winery, upgraded the winemaking facilities, and replanted some of the vines, which hugely improved the wine’s quality. As a result, the winery is now listed as a Bordeaux “Super Second”. 2009 and 2010 are well-recognized as exceptional vintages in Bordeaux, and Pontet Canet received 100 points for these 2 vintages from the world-renowned wine critic Robert M. Parker Jr. He described 2009 as “the greatest vintage I have tasted in Bordeaux since 1982” while 2010 is the “Vintage of the Century”!

Robert M. Parker, Jr. has praised that Alto Moncayo is one of Spain’s finest estates; and the estate has earned the perfect 100 points from the famed wine critic. for the Vintage 2007 and 2009! Led by the legendary Australian winemaking Chris Ringland, the winery uses Garnacha grown from 40-70-year-old old vines to produce wines of the highest quality. It presents the uniqueness of Garnacha Campo do Borja DO – complex, with a great balance of fruits and minerality.

Nicknamed as “The Steve Jobs of Wine” by Forbes, Paul Hobbs is a well-known top American winemaker whose wines have earned 100-point for 5 times. Also, he has twice named Robert Parker’s “Wine Personality of the Year”. He established his own winery in the Russian River Valley in 1991, which is now certified sustainable. Paul truly believes that every vine has a story, and he works to capture the sense of place! His single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, such as from Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard and Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard, are of world-class quality, are listed among the most collectible wines of the world and received perfect scores from various wine critics.

Henschke is a respected family-owned winery in Australia, recently awarded ‘2021 Winery of the Year’ by James Halliday. It owns some of the top single vineyards in Australia – such as the famous Hill of Grace and Mount Edelstone vineyards. Hill of Grace is one of the most classic and best-known Shiraz in Australia. Its unparalleled concentration, length, complexity, and definitive track record of ageing all rank among the best in the world. The Vintage 2016 has been rated 100-point by James Suckling.

Peter Fraser has been the winemaker and driving force behind Yangarra Estate Vineyard since 2000. The winery is now fully Biodynamic, with an extremely positive influence on sustainable viticulture development throughout Australia. Peter was even awarded “Winemaker of the Year” by Halliday Wine Companion in 2016. Under the leadership of Peter, Yangarra is well-known for its exceptional old vine Grenache and Shiraz. In particular, its flagship Yangarra High Sands Grenache has a glorious record of awards. The Vintage 2016 was crowned “Wine of the Year 2020” by James Halliday and the Vintage 2019 has received perfect scores from James Suckling.

Dan Standish, the owner of Australia winery Standish, is an extremely experienced winemaker, who has worked in the Napa and Sonoma valleys in California, La Rioja in Spain, and the Rhone Valley in France to his domestic winemaking. In 1999, Dan Standish established his eponymous winery with a small parcel of 96-year-old shiraz from his parent’s vineyard in the Vine Vale subregion of the Barossa Valley. Dan’s wines are rich and profound that you would expect from Barossa Valley old vines, but they have a satin texture and dreamy perfume, earning the perfect 100 points from James Suckling.

Argentina is known for its high-altitude wine. The vineyards at that height can enjoy lower temperatures, larger diurnal temperatures, sufficient UV, and so on, resulting in pure, intense, aromatic, and complex wines. Catena Zapata is the pioneer in the aspect, most famous for its flagship Adrianna Vineyard, the first ‘Grand Cru’ Vineyard in South America. It’s located near 5,000 feet above sea level, and no one thought grapes could ripen at such extreme altitude. Yet, it ends up producing extremely soft, velvety, complex wines considered of world-class quality.

Its Adrianna Vineyard River Stones Malbec 2016 is even the first-ever 100-point wine in South America by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate! It has again created history and let’s not miss out on this legendary winery!

Sena is a joint venture by the owner of Vinedo Chadwick and the legendary California winemaker Robert Mondavi. Sena is a unique Bordeaux-style red blend with a very Chilean soul. The authentic Chilean blend made mainly with Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere clearly raised the bar for Chilean premium wines. The name Sena means “sign’ in Spanish, representing a sign to the world that Chile was able to produce world-class wines. Sena lives up to expectations, scoring over 90 points in Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate for consecutive 10+ years. It’s undoubtedly equipped with highly stable and exceptional quality. 2 of the vintages even got 100 points from James Suckling. What an impressive resume!

Almaviva, established by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild of Château Mouton-Rothschild and Concha y Toro, is a “Primer Orden” (First Growth) of Chile. Its wine has never been rated lower than 90 points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate since its debut vintage! It was even rated 100 points by James Suckling!

Michael Frio, its Chief Winemaker, first joined the winery in 2007. Michel Friou is a French who has settled in Chile for more than 20 years. He worked in Chateau Margaux in France, and several well-acclaimed wineries in Australia and Chile. Under his leadership, Almaviva has exceeded the old perception of Chilean wine with its outstanding quality. For wine lovers and sommeliers, the quality of recent vintages is comparable to any top Bordeaux blends from other countries and regions.

Clos Apalta is a Chilean wine brand with French philosophy. Nestled at the Apalta Valley in Chile, the namesake winery was founded by the French Bournet-Lapostolle family, a renowned fine wine and spirit producer in France. It is recognized as one of the top wines of the country, with awards including 3 times of 100 points by James Suckling and “Wine of the Year 2008” by Wine Spectator.

Viñedo Chadwick is located 650 m above sea level in the Alto Maipo Valley. Its 15-hectare vineyard is considered one of Chile’s best terroirs for producing Cabernet Sauvignon of exceptional quality. The first vintage of Viñedo Chadwick dates back to 1999, and the second vintage 2000 is already history-making by defeating Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Margaux at the Berlin Tasting. The 2004 vintage is the first-ever Chilean wine winning 100 points from the hand of James Suckling. The founder Eduardo Chadwick was named “Decanter Man of the Year 2018” for his pioneering vision and sheer determination that helped to propel Chilean fine wine onto a global stage.